1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a muffler for a vehicle, particularly a muffler, of which the muffler housing is integrally formed with a baffle, for a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Mufflers for vehicles in the related art has a structure in which a plurality of chambers is formed by disposing one or more baffle in a closed housing having a predetermined volume, and an exhaust gas inflow pipe through which exhaust gas flows into the housing and an exhaust gas outflow pipe through which the exhaust gas is discharged outside the housing are disposed such that the exhaust gas flowing into the housing flows along a predetermined exhaust path in the housing and is discharged with the pressure and noise reduced to the outside.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a muffler according to the related art, which includes an upper housing 1 and a lower housing 2 that are welded at the edges or combined with each other by bending to define a predetermined closed volume, a plurality of baffles 3 that divides the closed space inside the housing into a plurality of chambers, an exhaust gas inflow pipe 4 through which exhaust gas discharged from an engine flows into the housing, and an exhaust gas outflow pipe 5 through which exhaust gas of which the pressure and noise are decreased while flowing along a predetermined path in the housing is discharged outside the housing.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of another muffler according to the related art, which includes a cylindrical housing 11 that is rolled with openings at both sides by welding the overlapping edges or combining the edges by bending, end caps 12 that close the openings at both sides of the housing to define a predetermined closed volume, a plurality of baffles 13 that is disposed inside to divide the closed space formed by the housing and the end caps into a plurality of chambers, an exhaust gas inflow pipe 14 through which gas discharged from an engine flows into the housing, and an exhaust gas outflow pipe 15 through which exhaust gas of which the pressure and noise are decreased while flowing along a predetermined path in the housing is discharged outside the housing.
However, according to the structures of the mufflers in the related arts, there was a problem in that since the housings and baffles, which are formed of similar materials having similar thicknesses, are separately manufactured and assembled, molds for respectively manufacturing them and jigs and tools for assembling them are required, such that the manufacturing process of the mufflers is complicated and the manufacturing cost of a vehicle increases.
Further, there was a problem in that since it is required to develop new molds, depending on the capacities of the mufflers, which are different for the types and engines of vehicles, the investment cost increases.
Further, there was a problem in that the inner sides of the housings and the edges of the baffles are not in close contact with each other due to manufacturing defective of each parts or bad placement of the baffles when the housing and the baffles are assembled, such that gaps are defined and the gaps causes vibration and noise while vehicles are traveling, thereby reducing ride comfort of the vehicles.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, in a duel muffler having mufflers disposed at the left and right sides of the rear portion of a vehicle, it was required to individually manufacture the left muffler and the right muffler because their up/down shapes are different, even if they have the same capacity and internal structure.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.